Under-19s National Champs: Vics finish 5th after loss

NSW’s win meant it secured first place in the tournament after Western Australia failed to get the outright win required to steal the trophy.

In Victoria’s last push at what would be an unlikely championship triumph, NSW resumed on day two at 2-50.

Chasing Victoria’s competitive total of 227 (Sam Harper 60, Matt Short 53), NSW batted patiently all day, knowing that the rewards would come eventually.

Jonty Rushton (1-21) made the all-important first breakthrough of the day, dismissing the dangerous Matt Rodgers for 53.

Twenty runs later, two more wickets fell in quick succession and Victoria was brimming with confidence with NSW in trouble at 5-113.

The next two wickets were a little more difficult to come by, as NSW’s lower order frustrated the Victorian bowling attack.

When Zach Allen and Matt Short combined for a run out, the match was in the balance again, with NSW 7-161 and needing 67 to win.

This would be as close as the Victorians would get however, as Harmon Sandhu joined a dominant and established Daniel Fallins at the crease.

The pair put together a mature and patient partnership that saw NSW over the line in a canter.

Fallins was brilliant, steering his side to victory and finishing with an unbeaten century when the match was called off.

He couldn’t have done it without the support of Sandhu however, who was dismissed for 25 while trying to guide Fallins to his hundred.

Shea Gribben had his best outing for Victoria, finishing with 3-33 after picking up two wickets at the end of day one.

The loss sent Victoria down to fifth in the final standings, but a win-loss ratio of 3-2 tells a more accurate story as to how well they played.

One or two bad days throughout the carnival made the difference in the end, with plenty of positivity to take away from the tournament.

Zach Allen had a great time with the bat, finishing the Championships as Victoria’s highest run scorer with 165 runs at an average of 23.57.

A huge congratulations goes to Sam Grimwade and Guy Walker, who were both selected in the ‘Team of the Championships’ after they led Victoria’s bowling with 11 wickets each.

Well done to captain Ejaaz Alavi, coach Jarrad Loughman and to the rest of the Victorian squad on a fantastic effort over the past couple of weeks.